In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems are generally known. An IFE is a system on an aircraft that can provide various services to passengers, such as video and audio, and modem IFS systems also perform other task such as operating reading lights and flight attendant call indicators. On an airplane, an IFE comprises various components networked together to perform the desired functions.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a simplified architecture 100 for an IFE system. In architecture 100, a backbone data network 110 is coupled to a management terminal 112, a digital service unit (DSU) 114 and an audio and video controller 116. In this example, backbone data network 110 is coupled to front-end network 120 that couples DSU 114 to a plurality of area distribution boxes (ADBs) 122 and 124 and tapping unit 126, which drives display 128. A broadcast audio and radio frequency (RF) signal bus 130, in this example, carries an output of audio and video controller 116 to ADBs 122 and 124 and to tapping unit 126.
Management terminal 112 typically provides a user interface to the IFE system for flight crewmembers or maintenance staff. For example, a user can specify software configurations for some of the other system units or can allow a user to enable or disable the availability of audio/video content or wide area network access to passenger on the aircraft. For example, a user can select a movie for output to tapping unit 126 from audio and video controller 116 via broadcast bus 130.
Area distribution boxes 122 and 124 are each generally a local seat-level routing device that controls distribution of signals from the front-end network 120 and broadcast bus 130 to seat electronics devices that provide services to passengers. The ADBs also receive and route messages from the seat boxes to provide, for example, overhead reading lights, attendant call indicators, and channel selections.
Audio and video controller 116 generally operates as an entertainment headend controller that can perform a variety of functions. Controller 116 may interact with input devices, such as cameras, video players, audio players, or similar content providing devices. The content is provided to ADBs 122 and 124 or tapping unit 126 via broadcast bus 130. For example, management terminal 112 may be used to send a command to controller 116 to select a movie playing in a video player for transmission over broadcast bus 130 to tapping unit 126 for output on display 128. Controller 116 may also be used to relay inputs from the cockpit, for crew announcements and flight information and display.
Digital server unit 114 provides analog and video outputs derived from digital content stored, for example, on a hard disk drive, compact disk, or other storage devices. The DSU is typically modular in construction and includes component subsystems that, for example, provided control and interface functions, audio or video decoding, analog buffering, RF modulation, and multiplexing of audio or video signals into a combined signal. For example, a DSU may have a movie stored on hard drive whose digital audio and video data is decoded and RF modulated for output onto broadcast bus 130 for output to ADBs 122 and 124 or tapping unit 126. Alternatively, DSU 114 may be configured to transmit the audio and video data for the movie over network 120 to ADBs 122 and 124 and to tapping unit 126. In this alternative, the DSU, which typically includes a central processing unit (CPU), accesses digital content stored on a disk drive and streams the digital content using TCP/IP protocols through a network interface to network 120 in order to provide the digital content to video or audio clients, where the digital data is decoded and converted to analog audio and/or video signals.
Video content is typically stored on a storage unit, such as a high performance disk drive, of the DSU in a compressed format, such as the Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) formats MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. Similarly, the audio content is typically stored in a compressed format, such as MPEG-3 (MP3). The storage unit is typically accessed using a high speed interface, such as a SCSI interface, which may be accessed by a technician in order to load content onto the storage unit. Multiple DSUs may be utilized in order to provide content to ADBs, tapping units, or other client devices.
Tapping unit 126 is typically a device that is addressable via network 120 for tapping a broadcast signal provided via broadcast bus 130 or a digital stream provided via network 120 for distributing selectable or predetermined portions of the signal to one or more display units, such as display 128, which may be for viewing by a single passenger or multiple passengers. The tapping unit 126 functions to turn the display unit on and off and may, in the case of a unit configured to tap into the signals provided via broadcast bus 130, operate to tune a tuner for audio or video channel selection. Alternatively, the tapping unit may operate to decode a selected digital audio or video stream in order to generate an audio or video signal.
Further details regarding an example of an IFE system are set forth in commonly owned and assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/136,237, filed May 1, 2002, entitled Method and System for Configuration and Download in a Restricted Architecture Network, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. See also the white paper entitled “In-flight Entertainment”, B. Anantha Subramanian, Wipro Technologies, 2002, herein incorporated by reference, that generally describes IFE systems.
Problems occasionally arise with IFE systems. Service personnel must diagnose the problems in order to identify needed solutions. Conventionally, diagnosis has been performed using a personal computer, such as a laptop, which is connected onto the IFE while the aircraft is on the ground between flights or during a scheduled maintenance period. An on-site technician operates the laptop to run a diagnosis program that reports the status of the IFE components and that can identify certain problems. Unfortunately, such a conventional diagnostic system requires the on-site presence of a person to operate the computer.